Building and interior arrangements thereof

ABSTRACT

Building of the type in which a plurality of utilization areas defined by walls and adapted to be occupied by a first category of users, are provided with at least one entry giving access to a reception zone for said users of the first category and at least one service area adapted to be utilized by a second category of users for the reception and/or the handling of objects. Means are present for enabling the objects and the users of the two abovementioned categories to circulate between the utilization areas, the service area, and the reception zone.

United States Patent BUILDING AND INTERIOR ARRANGEMENTS THEREOF 3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

Int. Cl E0411 3/02 Field of Search 52/174. 33,

Primary Examiner-Price C. Faw Jr. Attorney-Holman & Stern ABSTRACT: Building of the type in which a plurality of utilization areas defined by walls and adapted to be occupied by a first category of users, are provided with at least one entry giving access to a reception zone for said users oi the first category and at least one service area adapted to be utilized by a second category of users for the reception and/or the handling of objects. Means are present for enabling the objects and the users of the two above-mentioned categories to circulate between the utilization areas, the service area, and the reception zone.

PATENTED SE? 7 HTI SHEET 1 OF 3 PATENTEU SEP 7 ISTI SHEU 3 HF 3 F G-S BUILDING AND INTERIOR ARRANGEMENTS THEREOF BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a building and its interior arrangements. The known buildings of the above-described type, a particularly typical example of which are hotels, have considerable drawbacks: the above-mentioned utilization areas (i.e. in the case of a hotel, the customers rooms or apartments) are connected to the service areas (kitchens, pantries, central or floor room service commodities, etc.) by communication means, such as elevators, corridors, which are used by the customers as well as by the members of the personnel (hereinabove defined by the term of users of the second category) who are in charge of the service operations, such as transporting the clients luggage between the reception and the rooms, serving breakfast, or other meals prepared in the kitchen or in the room service commodities and then carried to the rooms, changing linen and bedcloth, removal of used dishes, and removal of wastepaper and other items of waste collected while cleaning the rooms, said members of the personnel utilizing for these operations the same corridors etc. as the customers. The latter are consequently inconvenienced by the presence in the corridors of the personnel, of carriages and other material and devices used in effecting the various services. Furthermore, the customers are inconvenienced by the odors of food due to the transportation of meals through said corridors, and by the inesthetic aspect of dirty linen, the waste material transported along the corridors with a view to removal. On the other hand, said members of the personnel are inconvenienced while endeavouring to carry out the various service operations due to the circulation of the customers leaving their rooms or proceeding towards the same. Another disadvantage resides in the fact that warm drinks or meals prepared in the kitchens, or room service commodities, and carried to the rooms will arrive there in a substantially insufficiently hot state due to the comparatively long distance over which they have to be carried using the common communication means (corridors, etc.) It has been attempted to overcome these drawbacks by providing in hotels comprising a plurality of floor service lifts which normally are accessible only to the members of the personnel. However, while this arrangement improves the vertical circulation, it does not overcome in the least the drawback of the common utilization of the corridors by the customers and the members of the personnel who under certain conditions have to transport bulky pieces of luggage or other material and inesthetic and/or smelly objects, as the access doors of these service lifts communicate with the corridors also used by the customers. Furthermore, the above-described arrangement does not substantially shorten the distance and time for the transportation of food between the kitchens or room service commodities and the rooms.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is aimed at overcoming the abovedescribed disadvantages of the known buildings of the type considered.

According to the invention the above-mentioned utilization areas are divided in two groups comprising each one to four utilization areas, said groups being arranged at various superimposed levels, each utilization area being connected by a main door to a utilization corridor and by a service door to a service corridor normally separated from said utilization cor ridor, at least one elevator being provided for connecting the utilization corridors of the various levels to said reception zone, at least one service lift being provided for connecting the service corridors of the various levels to said service areas, said service lifl being equipped with means enabling said users of the second category to store, manipulate, and treat food and similar material to be delivered to said utilization area.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention as applied to a hotel considered in conjunction with the attached drawings and in which drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the details of one floor of a hotel embodying the essentials of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of a service elevator,

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic side elevational view illustrating a service elevator located in an elevator shaft between its lowermost and uppermost positions, and

FIG. 4 is a view generally similar to FIG. 3 illustrating a modification of the inventive concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As shown in the drawing, rooms, or apartments I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 for the customers are arranged in two parallel rows separated by communication means as will be described in greater detail hereinafter. Each room has a door 7a, b, c, d, e,

respectively, by which the room communicates with a corridor to be used exclusively by the customers. Thus, rooms 1, 2, 4 and 5 communicate by their respective doors 7a, b, d and e with a corridor 8, while rooms 3 and 6 communicate by their doors 7c and f with another corridor 9. Corridor 8 is served by elevators 30, 11 to be exclusively used by the customers, and similar elevators 12, 13 serve corridor 9.

Each room 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 communicates by a second door 100, b, c, d, e,f, respectively with a corridor to be exclusively used by the members of the personnel of the hotel. Thus, rooms 1 and 4 communicate by their respective doors 10a and d with a service corridor 31, while rooms 2,3,5 and 6 communicate by their respective doors 10b, c, e, and fwith another service corridor 32. The service corridors 31,32 are served by service lifts 14,15 and 16,17. It will be noted that the reference letter P designates the respective access doors of elevators 30, ll, 12, 13 and service lifts 14, 15,16, 17. Owing to the above-described arrangement the members of the personnel never need to circulate, or to convey any material, in the utilization corridors 8 and 9 reserved for the customers, each room communicating by its service door Illa-f with a special service corridor reserved for the personnel and served by service lifts which are also reserved for the personnel. These service lifts connect the service corridors of the various floors to one or several service areas, such as kitchens, pantries, etc.; these service areas may be located in the basement or/and at a floor specially arranged to this end.

The cage of one of the service lifts of the group serving each service corridor, to wit service lifts 15 and 16, is equipped so as to constitute a displaceable room service area. As indicated schematically by the dashJines in FIG. I, the cage of each room service lift 15 and 16 comprises equipment 37, 18, respectively.

More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the service elevator 15 includes an electric stove or plate warmer 38, a refrigerator 39, a cupboard 40, a sink 41 and two casings 42 and 43 each adapted to house a suitable tray carriage.

In FIG. 3 it will be seen that the service elevator 15 is located in an elevator shaft 44 between its lowermost and uppermost positions. The elevator is provided with a water reservoir 45 disposed on the roof thereof and which is connected to a tap disposed above the sink 4]. A further reservoir 46 depends from the bottom of the elevator and is connected to the sink 4]. A fresh water reservoir or tank 47 is located on the top of the shaft 44 and is provided with a discharge valve 48 which is so disposed relative to an inlet funnel 49 of the reser voir 45 that the reservoir 45 may be filled with fresh water from the tank 47 anytime the elevator is raised to a position in which the funnel 49 lies immediately below the outlet valve 48 for the tank 47. If it is desired to discharge water from the waste water reservoir 46, it is sufficient to lower the elevator 15 to the bottom of the elevator shaft 44 thereby connecting outlet 50 of the reservoir 46 with a drainpipe 51. With reference to the modification disclosed in FIG. 4, the tap above the sink 4] and the fresh water tank above the elevator shaft 44 are interconnected by a flexible conduit 52. The upper end of the conduit 52 opens into a tubular axle of a winding drum 53 also positioned on the top of the shaft 44, In a similar manner, the sink 41 and the drainpipe are interconnected by a flexible conduit 54 having its lower end communicating with the tubular axle of a winding drum 55 located beneath the bottom of the elevator shaft 44. The tubular axle of the drum 53 communicates with the fresh water tank and that of the drum 55 with the drainpipe. Each winding drum is provided with means such as a coil spring (not illustrated) for maintaining the flexible conduit under slight tension con nected to a valve arranged at the lower surface of the service lift cage and adapted to cooperate, when the latter is in its lowermost position in the lift shaft, with a corresponding valve which controls the entry of a stationary waste water evacuation conduit.

It will be understood that the displaceable room service area constituted by the room service lift described hereinabove al lows not only the individual floor room service areas usually provided in the known hotels to be dispensed with but furthermore provides for increased comfort for the customers by ensuring a more rapid service of the meals which are now prepared in the room service lift instead of a central kitchen (located, for instance, in the basement), or instead of a room service area of the conventional type which, even though it may be located on the same floor as the customers room, is, in many cases, separated from said room by long corridors. It will be understood that the food which is to be consumed in a hot state will not be able to cool off substantially during the transportation from the zone of preparation (i.e. the cage of the room service lift which has been brought previously to the floor where the food is to be served) to the room of the customer to be served.

A hotel arranged in accordance with the present invention preferably further comprises at least one "shuttle service lift" connecting the reception zone which is located at the ground floor to the basement where corridors connect this shuttle service lift to a service lift such as 14 and 17, due to this arrangemerit, the luggage of the customers can be transported between the room and a point located at the vicinity of the ac cess door of the hotel, using a circuit entirely distinct from the one constituted by the corridors, elevators, lobbies, etc. which are used exclusively by the customers.

For reasons of safety, an emergency staircase 19 which serves all the floors of the hotel is connected by a door 20 to the service corridor 32 which, in turn, can communicate, by normally closed emergency doors 21, 22 with corridors 8 and 9, respectively Another normally closed emergency door 23 similarly allows for communication between service corridor 31 and utilization corridor 8.

It will be understood that the floor represented in the drawing may be extended toward the right hand side (referring to the drawing) by adding any desired number of groups of rooms, corridors, elevators, service lifts, etc., such as the group designated by A, each one of these groups comprising four rooms, such as 2, 3, 5, 6 communicating with a common service corridor, such as 32, whereas the first two opposed rooms of each group such as 2, communicate with a common utilization corridor, such as 8, which also communicates with the last two opposed rooms of the preceding group of rooms, .uch as l, 4, the last two opposed rooms of each group, as 3, 6 communicating with another utilization corridor, such as 9, which at the same time, communicates with the first two opposed rooms of the following group. At each lateral end of the floor a service corridor, such as 3], served by a room ser vice lift such as and a conventional service lift, such as 14, communicates only with two rooms, such as l and 4, which rooms communicate also with the utilization corridor (such as 8) of the adjacent group (such as A), the right-hand end of the floor (not shown) being disposed symmetrically with respect to the left-hand floor end which comprises rooms 1 and 4.

It will be understood that while the invention has been described hereinabove with reference to a particular application to a hotel, it may be readily and advantageously applied, to hospitals, administrative buildings, factories, especially factories for chemical, pharmaceutical, and nuclear products, etc., and, more generally, to any building wherein it is desirable to separate two circuits of communication reserved for two categories of users, respectively, said building comprising a series of distinct areas which it is advantageous to service from a displaceable service area constituted by a service lift which may be equipped in accordance with the particular conditions, as a room service lift, as a medical dressing lift, as a workroom lift, a laboratory lift, or an ofiice lift.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

1 claim:

1. A hotel and its interior arrangements, comprising a plurality of utilization areas defined by walls and adapted to be occupied by customers, at least one entry giving access to a reception zone for said customers, at least one service area adapted to be utilized by members of the hotel personnel and for the reception of objects, and means enabling said objects and said customers and hotel personnel to circulate between said utilization area, said service area, and said reception zone, said utilization area being divided in two groups comprising each one to four utilization rooms, said groups being arranged at various superimposed levels, each utilization room being connected by a first door to a utilization corridor and by a second door to a service corridor adjacent said utilization corridor, at least one elevator being provided for connecting the utilization corridors of the various levels to said reception zone, at least one service lift being provided for connecting the service corridors of the various levels to said service area, said service lift being equipped with material necessary for storing and preparing foodstuff, and material adapted to be used by the hotel personnel for serving the prepared foodstuff to the customers in said utilization areas which constitute the rooms of said hotel, in which said service lift constitutes a room service lift and comprising at its top end a fresh water tank and at its bottom end a waste water collecting tank, said fresh water tank having a valve located at the top face of the lift cage adapted to cooperate automatically with a corresponding valve controlling the outlet of a stationary fresh water supply conduit for filling said fresh water tank when said lift cage is at the extreme top position of its vertical path, said waste water collecting tank comprising an evacuation valve located at the bottom face of said lift cage and adapted to cooperate with the corresponding valve controlling the entry of a stationary waste water evacuation conduit for emptying said waste water tank when said lift is in the lowermost position of its vertical path.

2. A building including a plurality of upper floors and at least one pair of opposite visitors rooms on each of said floors, one of said rooms having a sidewall facing a sidewall of the other room, means defining a passage area between said rooms, partition means for dividing said passage area into two adjacent corridors extending each between said two mutually facing sidewalls, a first door in each of said sidewalls for con necting each room with one of said corridors, a second door in each of said sidewalls for connecting each room with the other corridor, at least one visitors elevator communicating with said one corridor, and at least one service elevator commu nicating with said other corridor.

3. The building as claimed in claim 2 in which said partition means includes a door for establishing a direct communication between said two corridors 

1. A hotel and its interior arrangements, comprising a plurality of utilization areas defined by walls and adapted to be occupied by customers, at least one entry giving access to a reception zone for said customers, at least one service area adapted to be utilized by members of the hotel personnel and for the reception of objects, and means enabling said objects and said customers and hotel personnel to circulate between said utilization area, said service area, and said reception zone, said utilization area being divided in two groups comprising each one to four utilization rooms, said groups being arranged at various superimposed levels, each utilization room being connected by a first door to a utilization corridor and by a second door to a service corridor adjacent said utilization corridor, at least one elevator being provided for connecting the utilization corridors of the various levels to said reception zone, at least one service lift being provided for connecting the service corridors of the various levels to said service area, said service lift being equipped with material necessary for storing and preparing foodstuff, and material adapted to be used by the hotel personnel for serving the prepared foodstuff to the customers in said utilization areas which constitute the rooms of saiD hotel, in which said service lift constitutes a room service lift and comprising at its top end a fresh water tank and at its bottom end a waste water collecting tank, said fresh water tank having a valve located at the top face of the lift cage adapted to cooperate automatically with a corresponding valve controlling the outlet of a stationary fresh water supply conduit for filling said fresh water tank when said lift cage is at the extreme top position of its vertical path, said waste water collecting tank comprising an evacuation valve located at the bottom face of said lift cage and adapted to cooperate with the corresponding valve controlling the entry of a stationary waste water evacuation conduit for emptying said waste water tank when said lift is in the lowermost position of its vertical path.
 2. A building including a plurality of upper floors and at least one pair of opposite visitors rooms on each of said floors, one of said rooms having a sidewall facing a sidewall of the other room, means defining a passage area between said rooms, partition means for dividing said passage area into two adjacent corridors extending each between said two mutually facing sidewalls, a first door in each of said sidewalls for connecting each room with one of said corridors, a second door in each of said sidewalls for connecting each room with the other corridor, at least one visitors'' elevator communicating with said one corridor, and at least one service elevator communicating with said other corridor.
 3. The building as claimed in claim 2 in which said partition means includes a door for establishing a direct communication between said two corridors. 